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THE YOUNGEST BJJ BLACK BELT

By Benjamin Strusnik, May 25, 2022

In the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, becoming a black belt is one of the greatest accomplishments a practitioner can achieve. BJJ has an astounding culture of humility and integrity, meaning there is no room for arrogance in this Martial Art. Students will need to commit to their academy and prove themselves by showing dedication, perseverance and consistency within their training. This is the only way for a student to head towards a future wearing a black belt around their waist.

What This Article Covers:

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has come a long way since the Gracie family started developing the self defense aspect of the Martial Art. The growth of BJJ has seen many innovations added by numerous talented pioneers. From a humble beginning to the now more ferocious style of No Gi Jiu Jitsu is sweeping the globe. With the rise of ADCC and the exciting evolution of leg locks in the No Gi variation of BJJ, students are rushing into gyms all over the world.

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These days there is a larger arsenal of techniques and an easier way to access content through YouTube and platforms like bjjfanatics.com. This means that students are progressing faster through the belt rankings system of BJJ. As the sport has become more mainstream, parents are introducing their children to the art at very early ages, resulting in younger athletes reaching higher levels quicker.

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HOW MANY YEARS DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A BJJ BLACK BELT

It is quite common to see athletes spend over a decade training in BJJ concepts before they reach the black belt bjj level. In order to progress through the belt rankings, students will need to master a plethora of movements and concepts. There is a large magnitude of BJJ techniques, and mastering them all can take decades. The art is always evolving, so students will need to adapt their learning on the fly as new information is continually being developed.

There are cases of students that have reached the black belt in record times, this is highly due to their exceptional skills and high volume of hours on the mats. Some students will have previous skills in Judo, Mixed Martial Arts, Sambo, wrestling or other styles of fighting, which can help a student reach the black belt faster. Some students also begin their journey in the youth Jiu Jitsu belt rankings, which is a big reason why a student will become a black belt before the age of twenty. Most coaches have stringent criteria that a student must meet in order to gain promotion to the ultimate level. Criteria includes, technical ability, a vast amount of knowledge, competition prowess, resilience, continuity, honour and integrity. Some instructors need to see aspects like their coaching ability, because when you wear a black belt you become a role model to all of the other members at your academy.

There have been many famous practitioners to reach this level in quick fashion. Athletes like BJ Penn, Mads Burnell and Geo Martinez achieved it in three years, while other athletes like Vitor Ribeiro, DJ Jackson and Gunnar Nelson reached the black belt level in four years. All of these athletes have been high profile competitors in BJJ or MMA, which definitely helped fast track their promotions. Most athletes will develop their skills with a slow accumulation of knowledge and practical skill. They will need to impress their coaches with all of their attributes at their highest levels, especially their ability to teach BJJ to groups of students. This is extremely important, as becoming a leader and a role model is the essence of becoming a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

WHY DO STUDENTS PROGRESS SO FAST THESE DAYS

When Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was first introduced to the world, Helio and Carlos Gracie developed it as a self defense program. Helio developed the art even further to compensate for smaller and weaker students being able to compete with and defend themselves from bigger and stronger opponents. Over the years BJJ has grown in leaps and bounds, as many students of the art have added their own development into the mix. Many pioneers have taken the form of BJJ and manipulated it into a form that suits their own body type and style of fighting.

These days with the availability of BJJ knowledge, it is no longer a question of how long are you a white belt in bjj but rather how fast can I race through the BJJ belt system. As the sport has evolved so has the number of higher belts in BJJ, meaning that beginners will often have a higher standard of training from the start. This will translate into faster promotions, as a beginner has tougher competition to roll against and more high level and knowledgeable coaches to learn from. Nowadays the art form is broken down on a scientific level and many of the findings are recorded and easily accessible to anyone seeking the knowledge. Students can easily enhance their skill set and begin a much faster road towards becoming a black belt in BJJ.

The great aspect about modern Jiu Jitsu is how easily a student can develop their own style of BJJ. Back in the beginning students would have to learn what their instructors showed them and there was little room for diversity. Nowadays with many high level practitioners filming their own instructional videos, students can choose their own path through Jiu Jitsu. Of course the basic foundations must be learnt, but with so many unique flavours in BJJ, students can take their games to uncharted heights. Are there belts in No Gi bjj? Some coaches don't even teach Gi Jiu Jitsu as they are more in tune with the newest trend of No Gi Jiu Jitsu, this means if a student only learns No Gi BJJ then there are significantly less techniques to learn, meaning they can earn belts without learning Gi techniques.

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HOW DO STUDENTS SO YOUNG BECOME BLACK BELTS IN BJJ

These days younger students are reaching the black belt level in BJJ. The reason for this has multiple factors which includes more high level practitioners to learn from. Now that BJJ has become mainstream, most academies run classes for children as young as five, some even start from three. The significance of younger children being able to learn skills in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is tremendous. This means that kids can spend fifteen years learning the art before they turn eighteen, this is a clear indication as to why students are reaching the top levels faster.

The kids Jiu Jitsu belt system is a highly technical one, as it offers thirteen different belts before they can earn their blue belt. This system gives children a stringent set of guidelines to follow making it easier to set goals and then achieve them. Having such a comprehensive series of coloured belts will also protect the children as they manage their expectations more advantageously. Students can race through the grey and yellow belt groups before moving into the more technical series of orange and green belts. At these levels students will advance in their technical proficiency, resulting in high level BJJ at the ages of twelve to fifteen. Once a student can reach a high junior level they will often realise how good is a bjj blue belt and know they will head straight there from their green belt.

Now that a student can reach a particularly high level of Jiu Jitsu at an extremely young age, they are set to race through the adult belts. Earning a blue belt so young means they are already very technical and can reach the purple belt level rather quickly. The rest is up to the student as they will often become extremely consistent with their training and compete in a multitude of tournaments. If a student begins winning multiple events, especially world titles then a coach has no other option but to keep promoting them. This will ensure that a student will become a black belt at a really young age.

WHO IS THE YOUNGEST ATHLETE TO BECOME A BJJ BLACK BELT

There has been a long list of young athletes who have made it to the top level in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Many of these athletes have started training from a young age, and rising up through the junior coloured belt ranks has given them the technical mindset they have needed to achieve. Many of these young athletes have fast tracked their promotions by winning on the world stage of BJJ, they have won titles all throughout the IBJJF, ADCC, and many other promotions like Metamoris Pro, Submission Underground and Polaris.

There are many young black belts, and at the age of 23 these athletes achieved the promotion; Lucas Barbosa, AJ Sousa, Yago de Souza, Mansher Khera and Felipe Cesar. This next group of athletes made it at the age of 22; Edwin Najmi, Tanner Rice, Dilĺon Danis and Michael Liera Jr. At the age of 21 Mahamed Aly, Tomoyuki Hashimoto and Victor Honorio received their black belts. Mikey Muscamesi impressed the world arena by earning his promotion at the age of only 19.

The practitioner who sets the record for the youngest athlete to receive a black belt is Mica Galvao, who was awarded his belt by his father and coach Melqui Galvao at the age of 17. Mica has been an exceptional talent all throughout his juniors and the coloured belt levels, winning World titles, World Pro's, Grand Slams, European and Pan American Championships. Since becoming a black belt he has won an Abu Dhabi World Pro, a Rio De Janeiro Grand Slam, a 3CG Kumite and a ADCC Brazilian Trial. The young athlete is an outstanding and promising athlete and at the young age of 17, this high level practitioner is going places.

ARE YOU A BJJ FANATICS INSIDER? IF NOT, YOU’RE MISSING OUT!

Take a deep dive on one specific skill per month with the top instructors in the BJJ Fanatics family.

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Private Lesson (Masterclass)
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FREE FOR 7 DAYS TRIAL

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IS IT COMPLICATED TO EARN A BJJ BLACK BELT

Becoming a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt is extremely complex, and is one of the hardest belts to acquire in any Martial Art. A practitioner must show dedication, consistency and perseverance if they want to reach this highly regarded level. Among these attributes a practitioner must also have profound technical knowledge and a highly capable practical skill. The only way to acquire these abilities is through hard work and a slow accumulation of the fundamental concepts of BJJ. Most beginners find out what percentage of bjj white belts quit, as they aim to surpass those students who fail along the way.

As a student progresses through the ranks they begin to accumulate certain skills. Their technical proficiency builds up along with their understanding of the flow of Jiu Jitsu. Once a student begins competition matches at the next level they realise how dangerous is a bjj blue belt. As they embrace their new level, they will often find it tough at the blue belt phase. Moving from blue to purple belt bjj can be a particularly tough process, as a student will need to show some coaching skills along with some exceptional technical proficiency. It only gets harder from here as students will often stagnate at the purple belt bjj level, forcing them to slow down with their BJJ. This is mainly due to injuries or increased personal commitments.

For students that keep up their continuity and dedication, they will find themself in front of a brown belt bjj promotion. Once a practitioner has reached this level, they must persevere and start refining everything they know so they can take the final step up the BJJ ladder. Most students at this level will already be well versed with coaching ability, they will also have superior technical skills and have an all round game style. Most brown belts will venture into the competition arena, not just to impress their coach but to try for some success before they are awarded a black belt. Once a student earns a black belt, then the level gets extremely hard and becomes even more difficult to win at tournaments.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING IN BJJ

When a student begins training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it doesn't take long until they are seeing the benefits. BJJ gives a student a tremendous opportunity to increase their health and fitness, as the sport offers high intensity exercises. It is also important to learn self defense tactics, so the student can start to feel a sense of confidence when they are out in the community. Another important aspect of BJJ is how it can help with mental health issues, BJJ has been described as therapy as it offers a cool and calm way of exerting built up energy.

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It is extremely common to see students that train in BJJ start to develop excellent friendships. The beauty of the art is once you have someone else's life in your hands, it's easy to start to bond with that person. BJJ brings people from all walks of life closer together, as it helps to break down the barriers with cultural diversity within the community. The benefits for kids are also exponential, as they will discover a fun and challenging way to make friendships, build their confidence and begin to become better decision makers when they are under high pressure situations. Everyone should have Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in their lives as it's a sport that keeps on giving.

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